


A Strange Deal

by AristocatSlippers



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Basically Nyanko wanted manju and devised a scheme to get some, Gen, It starts off as fluff and it stays fluff but the tone shifts towards the end, This is basically extended headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-06
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-05-03 02:55:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14559297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AristocatSlippers/pseuds/AristocatSlippers
Summary: When Natsume won’t take Nyanko-Sensei to get his favourite manju buns, Nyanko decides that he’ll go on his own. He’ll make any kind of deal if it means getting one of his favourite foods, though this one is a strange one.





	A Strange Deal

“Nat-su-me,” the old cat crones, jumping up on his desk. He sits on the piece of paper that the boy is writing on, much to his slight annoyance. Natsume puts down his pen and picks up Nyanko, moving him to the side. Unperturbed, the cat continues cheering, “Natsume! Nanatsuji. Nanatsuji!”

Natsume sighs, setting aside the work he had been trying to do and turning his attention to the yokai. 

“Sensei, I'm studying right now. I'm not going to Nanatsuji just this second, I'll take you later or tomorrow .” He says it apologetically, slight frown on his face as he stares down at the equations he is yet to solve. 

The cat protests, whining, “But Natsume! The manju buns! What about the manju buns?” Pawing at the paper again, he tries to bring the boy’s attention to him once more, but he fails to convince him that the manju buns are more important. 

Natsume just pushes the cat off again, stating, “Later, I promise.”

Unappeased, Nyanko wanders off, grumbling unhappily. Since he won't be getting anything out of the boy anytime soon, he goes off to find Touko, perhaps begging her would gain himself some rice - and fried shrimp if he was lucky. He strides out the door and leaves the _selfish_ boy on his own. In the hall, he enters the first room to his left only to find it empty of Touko. In fact, no matter what room he goes into, he can't find either Fujiwara to guilt into feeding him. 

He bursts back into Natsume's bedroom again, loudly declaring, “Natsume! Touko and Shigeru aren't here! Where are they?”

“They left to go shopping.” Natsume replies without even looking up. 

Nyanko whines in response, listening to only the grumbling of his stomach. “Then who's going to feed me, Natsume?”

Irritated, Natsume glares at the cat and holds up a warning fist, “Sensei,” he points at the door angrily, “Leave so that I can get my work done!”

Not chancing the punch to his head that was bound to come if he didn’t leave, Nyanko heeds his words and leaves. After all, there’s always the chance that he could steal the manju buns without getting caught if he gave it a try. It’s a solid plan, he thinks, even if he did get caught it wasn’t like anyone was going to be arresting a cat. The thought puts him in a chipper mood and he hums to himself as he strolls casually down the street, heading towards Nanatsuji to procure his buns. 

There are many ways he could get them, he could take human form and steal money from someone to buy the manju with - though he feels Natsume would probably be furious with him if he did, damn brat and his morals - or he could sneak in as a cat and launch himself at the stall owner to knock him out, then he could get his manju. Perhaps the most simple method would be just to take his majestic and splendid yokai form to steal the buns, that way there'd be no chance of anyone catching him. He could easily take as many of them as he wanted. He licks his lips excitedly, daydreaming about all the different flavours that they might have on offer. 

A sharp jab to his side pulls him back to reality as he's kicked across the street. Nyanko hears a strangled yelp and a thud, he whirls around to face the direction it comes from and growls angrily. The Tanuma kid is sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain and slowly pushing himself off of the pavement as the Taki girl laughs hysterically. Nyanko’s first instinct is to run away from her as fast as his little cat legs will take him before she can scoop him up and strangle, he means cuddle, him. Idea popping suddenly into his head however, Nyanko stays and formulates a plan to get his manju without any chances of angering Natsume. 

Grinning evilly, Nyanko strides up in front of Tanuma and, making sure he's in plain sight, sits with an expectant expression on his face. 

“Ponta..?” The kid says questioningly. 

Nyanko sniffs disdainfully at him, “Natsume's friend.”

“Sorry I kicked you, I didn't see you.” Tanuma apologises sincerely, though Taki is still giggling at him. 

Eyes lighting up with glee, she reaches for him, unable to resist the urge to squeeze anything remotely cute and cuddly looking. Tanuma puts a restraining hand on her arm which Nyanko is grateful for. She gives up and sits cross-legged on the pavement next to Tanuma. Nyanko looks at his guilty expression and Taki’s sullen one, scrutinising them, thinking that his plan is going rather well.  
“You should be sorry, human,” Nyanko tells him, “You tried to injure such a beautiful and splendid creature as I. I'll make you pay for that.”

Kaname doesn't wholly believe him, if Natsume were here he would have already hit the cat - the yokai, actually - over the head for misbehaving. There is no Natsume here though, and with no one to reign him in Ponta has a bad habit of misbehaving. 

“Ah, uhm exactly how am I going to pay?” He asks hesitantly, worried that it will be the typical, dangerous kind of repayment to angered yokai. Ponta’s request of him is comparatively mild to what Kaname is expecting. Mild for everything except his wallet, perhaps. 

“I want you to take me to Nanatsuji and buy me two of every flavour of manju bun they have.” Ponta demands firmly. 

Knowing that Nanatsuji always has a minimum of at least ten flavours to try, Kaname winces, digging his wallet out of his pocket to check how much money he actually has. Unfortunately, he seems to have brought enough with him to afford that - not with ease or any comfort at the cost, but he has just say enough that he can't lie and say he can only get as many flavours as he has money for. There goes his monthly allowance. 

“Or I could just eat you as payment, I'm beginning to get rather hungry now.” Ponta threatens. 

Kaname knows that Ponta doesn't really mean it, still, he'd rather appease the yokai than chance it. There's something he could get out of it at least, Kaname enjoys the idea of asking Ponta to talk about yokai with him as they walk there - it's not something Natsume is inclined to do unless the situation calls for it. Kaname is curious and curiosity killed the cat, or at least the cat’s wallet. 

“Alright Ponta,” Kaname agrees, “but on one condition,” he holds up a finger in front of Ponta’s face, the cat eyes him critically, “you tell us about all the yokai around the town and woods as we go.”

The cat seems satisfied, rising and heading in the direction of the manju bun stand. Kaname and Taki follow, abandoning any plans that they had for the day. Ponta is quiet as he walks ahead of them, Kaname wonders whether the cat will decide to tell them anything at all. 

“Okay,” Ponta says thoughtfully after a few minutes of walking, Kaname listens intently, “I'll tell you a little bit.”

“Most of the yokai around here respect Natsume, they didn't at first. Actually, a lot of them tried to eat him or kill him.” Ponta pauses as Taki gasps. 

Kaname puts a reassuring hand on Taki’s arm for a fleeting second to remind her that Natsume is fine now. Kaname is surprised, for all that he wants to learn about yokai, he isn't expecting Ponta to tell him about Natsume. It feels just a little wrong. 

He urges Ponta to keep talking though, interested in learning about his friend’s world, hopefully he'll tell him about the yokai in it. What they look like, about their festivals and where it's not safe to go. He laments that he can only ever go up to its edges, unable to take that step that would make him truly part of it. It's not really his fault that he can't see. 

“Natsume commands quite a few powerful yokai; commands is probably the wrong word. Some of them - like Hinoe, Misuzu and the rest of the dog’s circle - don't want their names back and view Natsume as their master. Though he almost never calls on their names.” Ponta says matter of factly. 

“The dog’s circle?” Taki asks confused. 

“It’s what they call themselves,” Ponta explains dismissively, “they're just some middle class yokai - besides Hinoe and Misuzu - who come and bother Natsume all the time. He does consider them friends and they've made him laugh and smile on more than one occasion, though. He just gets annoyed when they try to offer him sake.” Ponta laughs then, maybe just a little fondly, “All the more for me, of course. They threw him a birthday party once, we all played a wonderful game of shadow tag.”

“I wish I could see yokai.” Taki sighs wistfully, “Just every now and then, it seems just a little fun.”

“Yeah, and we'd be able to help him better when he needs us. Like Natori-san.” Kaname agrees, it would be very useful. 

Cutting off any further conversation, Ponta begins jumping up and down as Nanatsuji comes into view, babbling excitedly, “Manju, manju! Yay for the manju!” 

He does a joyful little dance on his hind legs that makes Kaname and Taki laugh in amusement, Kaname laughs so hard at him that he feels the start of a stitch. When the two of them finally sober themselves, Kaname pulls his wallet out of his pocket and approaches the server. 

“Two of every flavour please,” Kaname asks, handing over more yen than he cares to know the value of - rather he does care but if he actually checks he thinks he might have a heart attack. 

The server looks at him worriedly as she steams the buns, Kaname shifts uncomfortably under her gaze, “They're for a class study session,” he laughs awkwardly, lying through his teeth and glaring at the cat. 

Taki is hugging Ponta tightly and the cat looks annoyed but it can't escape which makes him feel just slightly better. Once cooked, the server places the thirty or so buns in paper bags, Kaname takes them, thanking her and leaving. 

Ponta doesn't tell them much more, too busy ravenously eating the manju to say a lot around his mouthfuls. When Kaname and Taki so much as try to take a single bun for themselves Ponta stands protectively between them and the buns, more than ready to fight them for them, it seems. After that he begins eating a little more slowly and talking more, Kaname suspects that it's to distract them from stealing the buns but he doesn't complain. All of the stories the cat tells are about Natsume, Kaname and Taki find themselves particularly interested in hearing about how Natsume pretended to be a god once. 

It's absolutely ridiculous and at the same time absolutely something that Natsume would do, most of the storytelling is garbled and awful because Ponta refuses to stop eating as he tells it so Kaname decides that he'll get it out of Natsume later. Roughly two thirds of the manju are gone before Ponta lets out a massive belch and passes out from overeating. Taki carefully picks up the cat and holds him gently, ensuring that she doesn't wake Ponta. 

Kaname glances at her, gathering up the paper bags of manju, “Want to go to Natsume's?” he questions. 

Taki’s gaze shifts between the cat and him, “Yeah, let's not leave Nyanko-sensei here to be pecked at by the birds.”

It's a quiet and pleasant little stroll to the Fujiwara household, they discuss shadow tag on their way, it sounds like it would be fun to play with all of their friends. Kaname imagines that Nishimura would be the most enthusiastic player. Kaname raps his knuckles against the screen door, waiting patiently.

After a minute or so a disgruntled looking Natsume opens the door, obviously surprised to see them. He looks questioningly at the unconscious Ponta cradled in Taki’s arms. 

“Tanuma tripped over Nyanko-sensei and ended up kicking him, so he made Tanuma buy him manju and then he ate so many he passed out.” Taki explains, chuckling lightly. 

Natsume laughs, shaking his head at Kaname fondly, “Taki, Tanuma, do you guys want to come in, since you're here?” He offers, stepping aside to let them through. 

“Sure,” Taki accepts, carrying Ponta in with her, “By the way Natsume, are you okay?” She asks just as Kaname is about to say something. 

“Maths,” He answers forlornly. 

“Is it really maths, Natsume?” Kaname presses, worried that it's something worse and that Natsume is lying again, it wouldn't be the first time. 

“Yeah, I just really don't understand trigonometry, at all. I might ask Kitamoto about it on Monday.”

Kaname laughs commiseratingly, he doesn't understand it either. Natsume shuts the front door behind him and leads them upstairs. 

“Ponta tells us you pretended to be a god once, you know,” Kaname tells him, grinning, he still wants to hear the proper story. 

“Share the manju and I'll tell you about it,” Natsume responds. 

* * *

 

It becomes something of a routine for Tooru, whenever Natsume won't take Nyanko-sensei for manju, the cat comes to either her or Tanuma to convince one of them to buy it for him. Each of them demands something in return, of course. As Tanuma tells her, Nyanko-sensei keeps him informed on the yokai in the area, describing them in detail and Tanuma revels in the time spent on their little excursions. He says it's almost as if he can see them properly, as more than just shadows, when Nyanko-sensei tells him about them. 

She doesn't demand the same thing of Nyanko-sensei, she exchanges every five minutes of squeezing cuddles from him for a manju bun. The cat doesn't much care for the crushing affection but he begrudgingly accepts the deal, if only because he knows an hour will win him twelve manju buns and that's more than either Natsume or Tanuma would ever buy him in one go. 

Lately Nyanko-sensei has been coming every afternoon, she's beginning to wonder if the cat managed to run both Natsume's and Tanuma's bank accounts dry with how often he chooses to ask his least favourite of the trio for food. She doesn't mind though. On that Wednesday evening, two months after they first struck the accidental deal, Tooru is feeling thoughtful. Instead of the usual cuddles as she watches an episode of television, she decides on something else.  
“Nyanko-sensei?” She asks, “Can I see your yokai form?”

The cat puffs up with pride and leaps up from the bed, “Come outside with me and I'll show you. My true form is one of beauty and majesty, I am a powerful and magnificent beast by any means.” He boasts of himself. 

“You'll have to make it large,” He warns her. 

Tooru takes a stick and draws a giant version of the seeing circle on the ground, stepping back when it's done. Nyanko-sensei stands inside and transforms from a cat into a great white beast. Tooru gasps, awestruck. Sensei looms tall over her head, the red markings in his white fur similar to the ones in his lucky cat form, she reaches out to touch him and finds his fur far softer and silkier than she remembers. Letting her stroke him for a few minutes longer, Sensei turns back into a cat and goes to leave the confines of the house’s yard. Tooru follows him, buying him even more manju buns than normal. It's not like she can't afford it. 

They strike up a new deal, one that's more interesting for Tooru and more comfortable for Nyanko-sensei. Sensei teaches her about magic, making sense of her grandfather’s notes by pairing it with his own knowledge of ayakashi, after all, he's an old and powerful yokai, there's a lot that he knows. She's unsure at first, remembering with some fear the one that cursed her. Sensei convinces her though, promising to make sure she's safe. 

“Draw the circle on your chest, above your heart,” Sensei instructs one day. 

Tooru hesitantly obeys, carefully drawing the runes in face paint. It's like she was missing half the world, a multitude of small spirits are running around her house, shaped like mushrooms and rabbits and mice and other things that she doesn't have the descriptive vocabulary to explain. 

There are even more outside, she sees the entire world the same way Natsume does and she thinks that maybe someday she'll be able to fully understand him. The little yokai are cute and sometimes she can't help herself from talking to them, or helping them with their small issues the way Natsume often does. Tooru is excited when she sees the kappa, pouring water on its grateful head as it lays parched in the middle of the dusty forest road. When she comes across a large one that grins evilly at her, threatening to eat her when it realises she can see, Tooru is terrified. Sensei scares it off with his light. It flees and disappears. Tooru smudges the circle. 

She starts wearing the circle where the edge brushes her collarbone and she can easily stop seeing with a swipe of her fingers. Natsume doesn't know, of course, she knows her circle is forbidden.

“Make this talisman and wear it around your neck.” Sensei says, pawing at a diagram in the old journal. 

“What does it do?” Tooru asks curiously, she’s becoming proficient at magic these days, though she still has difficulty understanding her grandfather’s writing, but she has a spellcaster’s blood in her and that's good enough. 

“It will make you invisible to humans without spiritual power when you wear it.” Sensei says, wearing his beast form as he instructs her outside, it's too hot to stay inside and she's desperately craving a breeze. 

“Why would I want that?” Tooru cocks her head to the side, vexed at the suggestion. 

“So that they can't see you.” Sensei says as if it explains everything. 

Still, Tooru makes the talisman, carefully following the instructions, she frets when she realises it needs her name to work but Sensei reassures her that ayakashi can't read human letters, especially not ones written so small. She calms and continues making it, realising that the way the talisman is made, no one can see her name anyway. Tooru places the talisman around her neck. 

Sensei crouches down and Tooru looks at him questioningly. 

“I thought you would want to fly,” The beast says. 

Her eyes light up with excitement, Tooru climbs on and holds tightly to his fur. Sensei rises into the sky, flying as if he were running on wind. It whips her hair behind her, so close to the clouds it feels as if her hair is being wetted with dew drops like spiderwebs on spring mornings. She reaches out to feel it but the clouds just slip through her fingers, after all they're nothing more than drops of evaporated water. 

Tooru laughs exuberantly, “This is amazing Sensei! The view is so beautiful from up here.”

“I'm inclined to agree,” Sensei says, his voice, that deep tone of his yokai form, is carried away by the wind. 

No one can see her, it's magical and she loves it, but speaking of magic, “Still Sensei, why did you teach me so much magic?” 

“We made a deal, didn’t we? Manju for magic, young girl.” The beast answers, but the way he says it, it doesn't seem to her like it's the real reason, simply a convenient excuse. 

Tooru lets it go, continuing flying and watching the countryside go by in a euphoric state. It ends eventually, of course, no manju can beat the quality of Mrs. Fujiwara’s cooking and Sensei eagerly returns home for dinner. 

She realises the reason one day in school, when she's forgotten to break the seeing circle like she usually does when Sensei isn't there. It's not safe without him. Natsume is dozing at the back of the class again when an inhuman hissing starts. She can't make sense of it at first, not until it becomes clearer. 

“Natsume! Give me the book the of friends!” It hisses dangerously. 

The yokai threatens curses and eating, Natsume wakes fitfully from his nap and looks around him startled and panicking but unable to locate the yokai in the room. Tooru furiously scribbles two talismans on blank paper and glances around her. Its face shows up behind the window, Natsume yelps and goes pale. The class turns around, looking at him concerned. 

“S-sorry, it was just a big bug.” He covers, though Tooru knows it's not the truth. 

She pulls an empty tub from her bag, standing up with it and the talismans, she pretends to catch the nonexistent bug on his desk. She slips the papers underneath the tub, “Don't worry Natsume, I've got it.”

Natsume stares at her dumbfounded as she opens the window above the yokai and pretends to let the bug go. Tooru drops the papers on purpose, though it's seemingly accidental. The yokai stiffens as the charms land on its head. It goes silent, no longer hissing alarmingly and after a few more seconds it turns tail and runs away. 

When it's gone, Natsume fixes his attention back on Tooru, bewildered and confused. She turns around, putting her finger to her lips and hushing him. Maybe she'll never understand him fully, but she can help him at least. 

She made a deal, didn't she?


End file.
